A lookback at Neeraj Chopra's gold at Tokyo Olympics 2020

Neeraj Chopra secured India’s first Olympic medal in track and field at Tokyo.

The countdown to Paris Olympics 2024 has begun and India stands poised to write another chapter in its storied Olympic history. Amidst the anticipation, it’s fitting to recall India’s most memorable victories at the Games.

Foremost among these is the historic triumph of Neeraj Chopra in the men’s Javelin throw at Tokyo 2020. It stands out as a milestone achievement and marks India’s inaugural Olympic medal in athletics.

In tribute to Neeraj Chopra’s triumph at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, August 7th is now celebrated as National Javelin Day across all states. Let’s trace the journey that led to this feat in the Olympics which fulfilled a dream that legendary athletes like Milkha Singh and PT Usha pursued but narrowly missed.

Neeraj Chopra’s qualification to Tokyo Olympics 2020

Despite narrowly missing the Rio 2016 qualification mark of 83 metres with his best throw measuring 82.23m, fate turned in his favor shortly after.

A week after the qualification window closed, Chopra achieved an 86.48m throw setting a junior world record and clinched victory at the 2016 World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. He extended his success by securing medals at prestigious competitions including the Asian and Commonwealth Games.

As Tokyo 2020 drew closer, Neeraj Chopra faced a setback with an elbow injury that had sidelined him during the 2019 Doha World Championships. Racing against time to recover, Chopra returned to competition in January 2020 at athletics meet in Potchefstroom, South Africa.

Also Read: Top five most memorable moments of Neeraj Chopra’s career

His impressive throw of 87.86m secured his qualification for the Tokyo Olympics by surpassing the 85m qualifying standard.

The postponement of the Tokyo Games to 2021 due to COVID-19 gave Chopra additional preparation time for his Olympic debut.

After competitions resumed in 2021, Neeraj Chopra gained momentum by securing victories in several domestic meets. Leading up to Tokyo, he achieved a national-record throw of 88.07m which is now his 12th career best throw.

Neeraj Chopra’s Achievement at Olympics

Neeraj Chopra entered a fiercely competitive field of 32 athletes at the Tokyo Olympics including world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, London 2012 gold medallist Keshorn Walcott from Trinidad and Tobago and Rio Silver medallist silver medallist Julius Yego.

His foremost rival, however, was German sensation Johannes Vetter who was a former world champion whose consistent breaches of the 90m mark made him a strong contender for victory in Tokyo, especially after his near-world record throw of 97.76m in Poland.

Also Read: Top five longest javelin throws of Neeraj Chopra

In the qualifying round on August 4, Neeraj Chopra took the lead with his initial throw of 86.65m by surpassing Vetter’s 85.64m effort. Despite this performance, many fans remained unconvinced about Neeraj’s potential to secure the gold medal in the upcoming 12-man final.

During the final round, Neeraj Chopra kicked off with an 87.03m throw which he extended to 87.58m in his next attempt. However, his third throw was less successful at 76.79m and in the next two attempts, he was unable to achieve a valid throw. Neeraj’s final effort measured 84.24m bringing his series to a close.

Despite challenging conditions in Tokyo that evening, Neeraj Chopra’s throws proved sufficient. His best attempt of 87.58m in the second round secured him the gold medal. Even his first attempt of 87.03m would have been enough to claim the top spot on the podium.

Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic captured the silver medal with an impressive 86.67m throw while Vitezslav Vesely also from Czech Republic secured bronze with 85.44m. Johannes Vetter, the anticipated frontrunner was disappointed with a ninth-place finish and a throw of 82.52m.

Hence, August 7 2021 marked a historic milestone in Indian sports history owing to Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal in men’s javelin throw at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics which is also India’s first-ever Olympic medal in athletics.

Neeraj Chopra’s victory also marked India’s second individual gold medal in the Summer Games, following Abhinav Bindra triumphing in shooting at Beijing 2008.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram